Welcome to our blog! This is the first of a series. Our purpose is to keep you up to date with this community research project and to provide a connecting point for the voices of migrant women from one part of the world to another.
The full name of this project is “The Contributions of Indigenous, Migrant and refugee women to our ecological well-being”. Happening in Toronto, Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand, its immediate aim is address the mental health disparities experienced by these groups in comparison to mainstream groups. Our longer-term aim is to address our ecological well-being through honoring the traditional knowledge these women often hold.
We also aim to make the connection between migration policies, dominant approaches to economic development, mental well-being and environmental degredation. Our approach is to explore issues of migration and psycho-spiritual well-being (mental health) from an indigenous Life-World or depth ecology perspective.
Our Story begins in Toronto where a small group of women gathered at the Riverdale Immigrant Women’s Centre (also known as “The Hub”) in 2011 to talk about their experiences as migrant women. Not only did we discuss issues such as racism, sexism and poverty but also the connections between mental well-being and separation from ancestral lands and traditional forms of community and spirituality as a result of forced migration. We were an ethically and racially mixed group of women, indigenous and non-indigenous to Canada. Our initial dialogue was like dipping our toes in – connected, warm and also skirting around some of the more challenging issues such as meanings of indigeneity, class and White privilege.
To date, around 20 women in the city of Toronto have been active in this project, either as focus group or individual interview participants. These women include James Bay Cree, Anishnawbe, Manitoba Cree, Mohawk, Mi’kmag/Quechua, Cherokee /Afro-American, East Indian, Irish, Afro-Caribbean/Cree, Korean, Argentinean, Shona Tribe, Zimbabwe, Ngai Te Rangi Tribe / Scottish, New Zealand and Pakistan. Now also underway in Aotearoa, Maori participants(Ngai Te Rangi and Te Arawa tribes) and women from Somalia and Pacific Island Nations have also joined the project.
The project’s most recent group gathering was in Toronto at the end of winter 2012. Again we gathered at “The Hub” for another day of intense discussion. Our aim was to deepen our dialogue around our experiences. Our talking circle was more or less continuous throughout the day, breaking only for a delicious lunch provided by Ringfire, an Anishnawbe catering service.
Deepening the Dialog, Riverdale Immigrant Womens Centre, Toronto Feb 2012
Here’s how our day went:
Our circle was opened for the day with a prayer and a smudge offered by one of our Cree participants Brenda Wastasecoot. We then took some time to go around the circle and introduce ourselves; talking about where we came from and what had drawn us to participate in the day.
Next, the group was invited to take some time in silence to move around the room and view some quotes taken from emerging findings from the research to date. Posted around the room the poster reflected a range of themes. These included the similarities between indigenous ways and spiritual traditions, and those of some of the international migrant women; meanings of well-being; and possible tensions between the research communities.
Deepening the Dialog, Riverdale Immigrant Womens Centre, Toronto Feb 2012
After viewing the posters women offered up a range of reflections. The discussion was intense, leading Lewis Williams (who was facilitating) to pose the question to the group of “what does Turangawaewae, or having a place of power from which to stand, mean to each women?” Turangawaewae is a Maori word which means “having a place from which to stand” and is often connected “mana whenua” the power that comes from having a rightful connection with the land. Our discussions quite quickly revealed that the need for Turangawaewae or sense of home is perhaps a universal theme or human need.
Our discussion continued and deepened throughout the day. Our discussions included a range of themes such as intergenerational trauma, the erosion of traditional knowledge through globalization and displacement, the suppression of indigeneity by international migrant women as a result of pressures to ‘fit in’, the challenges of keeping indigenous ways alive for our children and what it means to live well or the ‘good life’ among many other things!
Deepening the Dialog, Riverdale Immigrant Womens Centre, Toronto Feb 2012
We are looking forward to similar gatherings in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand, to keeping you up to date on the findings from this project as they emerge and importantly making this space available for women’s voices on these issues!
It is our hope that with your help, we will continue to deepen and expand the dialogue on women, migration and wellbeing!
Interested in being our guest blogger on this topic? Contact koru@korunetwork.com
